All Films

L'Exode d'un peuple

1939 • 36 min

At the start of 1939 an exodus of nearly 500,000 Spanish Republicans, soldiers and civilians together, fleeing Franco's troops crossed the border to France. Louis Llech, a Perpignan based shopkeeper and enlightened amateur cineaste, owned a 16mm camera. Together with his friend Isambert, he filmed this extraordinary migration. Fascinated by the military aspect of this Retirada, he favoured shots of parades, of crowds, like those showing military equipment. He nonetheless also showed civilian distress, without insisting on its picturesque aspects, focussing more on images of the uninterrupted flow of refugees.

Brazil: 2nd Part

1939 • 11 min

Journey to Brazil in the 1930s through its riches: tobacco in Sao Salvador, silk and coffee in Sao Paulo and sugar cane in Rio de Janeiro.

Chiora

1939 • 9 min • Soviet Union

The tale about small forest bird Chiora.

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

1939 • 16 min

Big diesel machines threaten to run Mike Mulligan and his old steam shovel, Mary Anne, out of business, until Mike agrees to tackle a big job.

Stars and Stripes

1939 • 3 min • Canada, United States of America

An abstract animation by Norman McLaren, who was born in Scotland in 1914. His interest in filmmaking began early in life after he became acquainted with works by the great Russian filmmakers Eisenstein and Pudovkin and the German animator Oskar Fischinger.

Aeronautical Oddities

1939 • 16 min

Newsreel footage of some of the most outrageous early flying contraptions--some of which even succeeded in lifting off the ground.

The Day of Rest

1939 • 9 min • United States of America

Joe Doakes tries to take a day off.

L'Espagne vivra

1939 • 44 min • France

In July 1936, the Spanish people resist the offensive by Franco’s army, backed by Italian and German fascists, aimed at conquering the country's major cities. Although many of the recruits to the new Republican Army are well trained, weapons and ammunition remain in short supply due to the non-intervention agreement initiated by France and signed by Italy and Germany. Yet the latter two countries continue to provide Franco’s army with military support and commit their troops on Spanish soil, while the fighters of the International Brigades return home.

Victorious Destination

1939 • 7 min • Soviet Union

Soviet propaganda film celebrating Stalin's five-year plans.

Young Sailors

1939 • 23 min • Soviet Union

Educational, propaganda, and patriotic film about the training of young sailors to pass the OSOAVIAKhIM standards for the title of "Young Sailor."

As Aventuras de Virgulino

1939 • 2 min • Brazil

Virgolino's girlfriend is kidnapped, so he goes after the criminal.

Monkey and Crabs

1939 • 11 min • Japan

Chestnuts, bees, and a mortar join forces to punish a villainous monkey.

Seal Skinners

1939 • 8 min • United States of America

A trained seal has escaped from the Jingling Brothers circus; there's a $100,000 reward. Both the Captain and John Silver hear this news, as does the seal. They show up, offering the seal a ride to wherever she wants to go; home to the arctic, as it happens. The Captain wins round one, grabbing the seal while John is engaged in a fight with yet another reward seeker.

Inspiration

1939 • 4 min • Germany

Cigarette advertisement by Hans Fischerkoesen.

The Birth of a Toothpick

1939 • 7 min

Dauntless Dan’s infatuation with an tree he has named Sylvia. Dan is a hero on a fool’s crusade. He is filled with self-absorption, admiring his reflection in a pond while declaring “You can’t turn Sylvia into toothpicks!”

Crop Chasers

1939 • 7 min • United States of America

A farmer 'hires' two scarecrows to guard his crops against voracious attacks by a flock of crows. During one attack a baby crow falls into the farmer's water well, and the scarecrows save its life. The grateful crows pledge to leave the farmer's cornfield alone in the future, and set about to repair some of the damage they have just done.

Um Apólogo

1939 • 14 min • Brazil

An adaptation of Machado de Assis' eponymous short story, preceded by a short telling of the author's life and works.

Valiant Venezuela

1939 • 9 min

Venezuela was one of the first countries in South America to break away from its Spanish colonial rule, and in spite of it remains one of the most developed countries on the continent. Much of this history is due to the great South American liberator, Simón Bolivar, with many monuments and historic sites dedicated to his memory. The country's Spanish heritage is evident in its culture and in its peoples. This travelogue of Venezuela begins in the port city of La Guaira, one of the stops on Christopher Columbus' new world route. From there, the trip goes on land by motor car over the mountains to the cosmopolitan city of Caracas, capital of the country. From there, the journey heads to the countryside to present the country's vast resources and agriculture, with sugar cane being one of the main crops. The country is dotted with lakes, with Lake Valencia being one of the most well known.

Long Live the Free People

1939 • 7 min • Spain

Spanish war propaganda documentary.

Imperial Delhi

1939 • 9 min • United States of America

This MGM short, part of James A. Fitzpatrick's Traveltalk series, takes the viewer to the capital of British India, Delhi. Visits to mosques and temples are followed by a tour of the shopping district, Chandni Chowk. The streets are filled bullock carts and only a few cars. Much is made of the peaceful co-existence between Hindu and Muslim. This is followed by a visit to the Viceroy's palace in adjoining New Delhi with a taste of the pomp and majesty of Imperial India.

Summer City

1939 • 18 min • Sweden

Directed by amateur filmmaker Nils Hallström, father of Lasse Hallström.

The Bird on Nellie's Hat

1939 • 6 min • United States of America

A dishy dolly of a brunette hitchhikes while taking lunch to her blacksmith husband. She gets a ride from a dastardly masher once she shows some leg. When she resists the cad's advances, she blackens his eye and gets tied to the railway tracks in revenge. The bird on Nellie's hat plays the key role in her rescue. Nellie's rescuer, a big burly Swede, is a classic sissified hunk- big on brawn and sporting effeminate good looks, but clueless what to do with the leading lady when she wants to give him his reward "kiss."

Pid Thong Lang Phra (Fragments)

1939 • 11 min

Thai Film is the second sound film studio in Thailand, founded in 1938 by a group of Thai aristocratic filmmakers. This studio was the only competitor of Srikrung Studio in the early days of Thai talkies. However, they only produced 5 films in 3 years before closing down. Pid Thong Lang Phra (Unsung Hero) is one of their films, though only 11 minutes of it have survived.

Park Your Baby

1939 • 6 min • United States of America

Scrappy is running a nursery in a department store where parents can drop their children off while they shop. A gangster drops off his bratty twins for Scrappy to deal with.